Greetings from Shanghai and the DUST 514 development team! I’m Brandon Laurino, Executive Producer for DUST 514, here to let you know what’s going on in development, and bring you a sneak preview of the improvements coming to the DUST 514 Closed Beta with our “Precursor” release on August 21st. Whether you’re a hardcore beta tester or just casually interested in the game, next week’s update marks another significant milestone as the game moves towards Open Beta.

The first live DUST 514 / EVE Online integration

Linking the intense front-line combat of DUST 514 with the galactic ship warfare of EVE Online has always been our keystone to building a vibrant community, and now that keystone is coming into place. With the Precursor release, we move DUST 514 from its standalone testing server over to the long-standing EVE Online test server, Singularity (aka “Sisi”). This means DUST 514 on PlayStation 3 and EVE Online on PC/Mac will be officially running on the same server.

When the Precursor Closed Beta build goes live, players on the Sisi server in DUST 514 and EVE Online can chat in real time and send in-game mail between games. We can’t wait to see what happens when these games collide in the same shared universe, and we’ll bring you more info on additional interconnectivity features as we move towards our next releases.

Orbital Strike Framework

The first framework for Orbital Strikes goes live in the Precursor build. These powerful, space-based attacks help link DUST 514 and EVE Online, letting squad leaders call in Orbital Strikes from the War Barge flying overhead when their squad achieves certain conditions in battle.

This is just the first level of Orbital Strike capability. In the near future, players on the ground in DUST 514 will be able to request strikes from ships piloted by EVE Online players. These strikes have the potential to do far more damage than the War Barge, their accuracy and power determined by factors like your DUST 514 Merc’s skills and what turrets the EVE Online pilots have trained and fit to their spaceships.

But Mercs on the ground won’t be helpless. We’ll soon add the Orbital Artillery outpost on the ground, which they can use to attack EVE Online ships in space.

Instant Battle Matchmaking

The Precursor update also implements several matchmaking features. Players will be able to find their friends, form squads and jump quickly into battles together using “Instant Battle.” In addition, the matchmaking system has been implemented to intelligently place solo players and squads into matches based on skill, creating a more inviting shooter experience, especially for new players.

New Environments

We couldn’t put out a major new release without adding tons of new game content. Precursor brings our Galaxy system online, which assembles maps from components based on planetary attributes and what is built on the planet, for tons of potential combinations. Closed Beta users will be able to help us test out a substantial array of new environments to battle in utilizing this new system.

Keyboard and Mouse Implementation

That’s right, with the Precursor release, you can use a USB keyboard and mouse to play DUST 514. We’re looking forward to seeing how this impacts play styles, and will be watching closely to see how keyboard/mouse players match up against Dual Shock and Move gamers. We are also working to add controller-based filters into Instant Battle/Matchmaking for a following update.

Tons of Other Great Stuff (including lots of polish, graphical enhancements, and bug fixes)

Everything mentioned above is just a small subset of what we’re adding to DUST 514 next week. All of these features are just the latest improvements to an awesome massively-multiplayer first-person shooter that will be free to play for every PlayStation 3 owner.

In addition, we’re launching a free companion app on the Vita, DUST 514: Neocom, to augment your gameplay experience and let you customize your fittings, train skills, use the market, browse the starmap, and much more, on the go anytime and anywhere.

Log In and Check it Out

The DUST 514 Closed Beta update launches on August 21! We’ll be announcing new events very soon that will give more PlayStation 3 owners a chance to test DUST 514, but if you’ve already gotten a beta key, you can check it out as soon as Precursor goes live.

We invite you to log in, check out the Closed Beta, and let us know what you think. We’ve made a ton of improvements to DUST 514 since Closed Beta testing started. CCP is committed to making this revolutionary game and service a success, just as we’ve done with EVE Online, and we will continue to improve your experience constantly for years to come.

I hope you enjoy the Precursor update to DUST 514, and I’ll see you on the battlefield!

@JKar275 – I might be underestimating them, but I have a hard time seeing the graphics get much better than in MAG which a lot of people complained about. If you want to do large scale stuff, there is a graphics tradeoff with consoles. Thats why BF3 and COD cant do more than 20 player matches without lagging. Most people dont want to realize this.

I’d like to know about clan support. Is it coming up, or what kind of features they plan for it? I had the impression there was going to be like a clan hub players hang out in before matches, etc. I could be wrong though.

Can’t wait for this. I only manage to play the beta for a few hours but it was fun and takes a little getting used to. I think the spawn system needs a little adjustment. I don’t like the fact that as soon as I spawn, I can die. Give like a 1 second invincible period so I an move instead of spawning and just die again.
@JKar275
Call of Duty graphic is average at best, yet that doesn’t stop it from be “popular”
It’s not about graphic, it’s about gameplay, support, accessibility, fun factor is what make a game popular

I will have to hope back into the beta after this update goes live. There will finally be more areas to play in. I want the player cap to be raised. I was really expecting player counts on par with MAG. Hopefully in the full game there will be epic battles with huge player counts. That’s what I think of when people say that they game is going to be interacting with an MMO. I do like the idea of all the interactions that can happen within the two games and I think that these two games sharing so much can change the scope of games in the future. Keep up the updates for this game and the hard work.

K/M support finally! Thank you so much. The input filters…not so much. Time to put away the Eagle Eye and give this game another shot. Logged in last week and was happy to see the changes from the last version. Its coming together, keep up the great work.

I am SO looking forward to playing this game. I wish you’d move up your current plans and push this beta out to Plus users ASAP. Don’t make the mistake of waiting to populate the servers till the last minute and realizing at launch that your servers are FAR from adequate. This is going to be a free game on PS3, you’re going to have millions of people playing potentially. (of course this is all just me reasoning it out this way because I want to play it sooner rather than later, lol. Though I think there is some reality to what I say as well)

@ people saying the graphics need to be better, I disagree a bit though I do LOVE great graphics too. But FPSs work with or without good graphics. What are by FAR the two best selling FPS franchises? Call of Duty and Halo……..FPSs with the most mediocre graphics on the market. CoD still used the Quake 3 engine for heaven’s sake (tho heavily modified obviously). Then look at Killzone. By FAR and away the best FPS graphics on consoles, and looks wise compares with even heavy hitters on PC. The FPS with the highest production values I’ve ever seen, yet they can hardly break 2 million sales and everyone bashes it and plays CoD instead. Graphic are obviously not King among FPS fans.

You guys are really adding some amazing stuff. I didn’t think we’d be able to actually attack EVE player’s ships in orbit. That’s astounding! You guys really seem to be going all out with Dust 514. I havn’t gotten to play yet unfortunately, so I hope the gameplay lives up to the crazy potential I’m seeing in this game.

I love that you’re adding KB/M support. I actually won’t use it……I grew up with a controller in my hands. But I love when devs add the option for the gamers that want that support. Plus I enjoy playing FPSs on consoles with KB/M users. It was interesting in Unreal Tournament 3. The servers weren’t busy really, but there were full games that proved good DS3 players could hang with KB/M users. But that was in a fast paced, jumpy type FPS. Will it be as good in a slower paced, realistic style FPS? Since Frag FX users dominate CoD, probably not, but we’ll see.

“If you want to do large scale stuff, there is a graphics tradeoff with consoles. Thats why BF3 and COD cant do more than 20 player matches without lagging. Most people dont want to realize this.”

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You know that graphics have nothing to do with bandwith, servers and the netcode?
Graphics are managed on the client side….it’s not the case, that the server is sending you the visual effects for explosions, players or vehicles….just their position….and this is mostly a simple x-y-z coordinate.

If they are able to manage the occuring data well, than the player count will most likely grow.
People are always comparing Dust 514 to Planetsite 2, pointing out the player count of nearly 2.000.
Well….EVEs Supercomputer “Tranquility” can manage 65.000 players on the same server….as Dust 514 is linked to the same server, I’m looking forward to what it can become, cause I think CCP has better equipment and greater visions than Zipper had.

Great graphics aren’t going to make this game a success. I’ve been on the beta and the addiction comes from experience gain, and learning quicker ways to get people to cooperate for objectives.

There are so many styles of mercs that it will turn you into an analyst looking for a paper-rock-scissor formula to beat down threating players with a different skill set than you. It fascinates gamers in that way, as they find their role that they can play with excellence. Gamers on my PSN friends who can’t grasp this simply get frustrated and return to BF and CoD which are easier for them to understand. I think their motor skills are too tuned to one game :o\

Great concept art and chances for larger screen shots of battle fields will hands down beat graphics. Hopefully people won’t take this game lightly since it is free. I bought a PS Vita just so I can have another way to enjoy Dust514 with the neocom app, and free up the PS3 for my wife. She was amused, to say the least.

Hello Mr. Laurino, first i would like to congratulate you and the rest of the team for creating a true masterpiece, and that’s my opinion based only on the beta so far. I can’t wait to see how this and future improvements will change the game.

I wish I’d get a full time Dust beta code already…I’m a big fan of MAG and all my guys over there are excited about Dust 514. From what little I’ve played…its been hard for to stay in it….I’m tryin to give it a chance though. The conceptual similarities to MAG are really what’s remotely interestin to me…and re: MAG….what a shame that so many people missed out on the awesome gameplay because of just decent graphics….looking forward to what Dust finally becomes…

Glad to see some movement on the update front. More than anything, looking to forward to playing with friends and knowing my overseas friends will be on the same server with me.

I know there are a lot of doubters out there about what Dust can achieve. I have faith that it will live up to the vision CCP has. It might not be a Day 1 powerhouse, but that is the beauty of the F2P model here. If you are not happy with it right out of the gate then check back in a couple months and see how it has grown and improved…I for one always anticipated a slow build.

If you want pretty graphics then play Planetside 2, I know I will be. But that doesn’t make the game fun, trust me. CCP is actually doing something different with Dust514. & people really need to realize that good graphics does not equal a good game.

@ ALIEN-gunner so wrong it doesn’t ruin nothing k/m support changes nothing I use the DS3 and I own people that are using k/m (yes there are other shooters out there on ps3 that have k/m support) and how I know is because they said they were hell I was accursed of cheating when I was owning them and frag fx users but that fact is I wasn’t cheating I never cheat

so just because some one is using k/m doesn’t make them a better player than someone using DS3

This is by far, the worst online FPS ever, not just this console, not just this generation, the worst in the history of gaming.

I wrote a massive thread explaining why, you’ll need beta access to read this though. Even in the official forums which should be full of supporters, there was a lot of support for my comments, so what does that say about the wider audience who’ve abandoned the game and forums completely? point is, spending $10-20 on another game like Section 8 Prejudice (which is what Dust 514 completely ripped off, and failed dismally) is MUCH better and not just worth your money, but your time. If it’s this bad by the beta stage, the devs really have no idea what they’re doing so there’s no hope this game will be any better by release. I honestly had so much faith in Dust514, but it’s the biggest failure this generation, it’s a already write-off imo.

And judging from the MAG, BC2 and BF3 betas, the final product really won’t be any different, it’s mainly bug fixes and minor changes to stats etc. from here on in.

@ Everybody complaining or worried about the graphics, it says “lots of polish, graphical enhancements and bug fixes” above in the description. IT’S A BETA!!! I’m having trouble using the triangle button to crouch, though. You can’t sprint out of a crouching position either, you gotta press triangle again to stand up first. Just doesn’t feel right.

@ supvic where is that post I’m in the beta and I can’t find it and it actually sounds like you haven’t even played the game because it is nothing like sec 8 and in the forums it is completely opposite of what you are saying and there are allot of features that have yet to be add to the beta and now they just starting to add them

Although they will upgrade the graphics before release the graphics should not be something you judge a game by, unless you are judging solely on the graphics and the graphics alone. What you should focus on is that this game has really fun gameplay (unless everyone is spamming tanks(seriously…thats not even fun, nobody like tank on tank action go play tank wars)) and the customation…i shouldnt even have to comment on it, it stays true to the EVE style of customazation while keeping it simple for people who want to jump in and shoot $#!t . And this is; 1. The ONLY good Free-to-Play MMO on PS3, and 2. One of the first games to have another MMO have such a big impact on eachother. And on a personal note….hey CoD tryhards….stay out of GOOD FPS online games, and stop complaining about noobtube its IN the game dont like it dont play Crap of Duty.